Drakaal
Drakaal, formerly known as Eikaal and alternatively known by his codename Crusader, is a Toa-Visorak fusion and a dangerous Dark Hunter. History Matoran Eikaal was one of the universe's first Ta-Matoran, who was among those who "labored in darkness" in the creation of Metru Nui. He in particular was a blacksmith, forging tools for his Matoran brethren and metal parts for the construction of the city. When Ko-Matoran astrologers discovered strange formations in the cosmos that seemed to be headed toward the Matoran Universe, they chose twelve Toa to become the "Toa Vurka" with the special destiny of defending Metru Nui from the cosmic threat. Eikaal was one of two Toa of Fire on the team, the other was Galek, who became a friend of Eikaal's. Toa As one of the twelve Toa Vurka, Eikaal fought against a race of aliens known as the Malevolent. In the Malevolent's first attack, Eikaal was one of the strongest of the newly-equipped fighters, using his natural quick temper to his advantage. After the first attack, Eikaal discovered that he had control of powers not exhibited by other Toa of Fire, including the ability to utilize fire as a means of flight. This was later discovered to have been caused by the entity Phoenix, one of the extraterrestrial entities, which had taken Eikaal as its physical host. With his newfound powers, Eikaal and his teammates continued to fight the Malevolent, and eventually succeeded in exterminating most of them, although some had already managed to poison the Matoran Universe. After the Toa Vurka officially disbanded, Eikaal was given the opportunity to give up his Toa Power and become a Turaga, but he refused, perhaps because he felt his destiny as the Phoenix host was not yet complete. While Eikaal was still a Toa, the Toa Schism occured. Eikaal was among the Toa who resigned from the order, under accusations of taking part in terrorism in Metru Nui. However, Galek caught up with him and convinced him to return to take part in the council of the Toa. He was assigned to a new team, the actions of which are not yet known. Around 44000 BGC, Eikaal was kidnapped by Makuta Mutran, who was attempting to extract Matoran intelligence to create equally intelligent Rahi. Due to Mutran's other duties as a Makuta, however, the actual copying attempts—involving cutting out parts of Eikaal's brain and using "DNA leeches" to copy the information in his brain—took thousands of years. And before Mutran was quite done, the Rahkshi carrying the near-lifeless Eikaal back to his cell lost their hold on him, and he tumbled into a protodermis vat in which a Visorak Voridrak was maturing. Drakaal The premature Visorak fused itself to the Toa's body—its protosteel abdomen covered his torso, and its head became the new shell covering the Toa's cut-apart and unrecognizable head. The protodermis in the creation vat re-energized the fused being, which now called himself Drakaal (Voridrak + Eikaal). He broke out of the vat and exacted his revenge on the Makuta, killing dozens of Rahi and Rahkshi and destroying the vast Makuta fortress of the Southern Continent, in an attempt both to escape and to repay the Makuta for their years of torment. The Shadowed One, upon hearing of this powerful new being who had single-handedly destroyed a Makuta fortress, sent a squad of six Dark Hunters to find Drakaal and recruit him. The recruitment did not go as planned—he killed four Dark Hunters before the final two restrained him—but he did join the organization, taking the codename "Crusader". As a Dark Hunter, Crusader was sent on missions that required either pure destructive power or "intimidation diplomacy", since while not in a destructive rage he was actually quite calm and rational. He also developed a bit of a rivalry with Jethryn, who sometimes took on missions of his own that Drakaal had been hired to do. In fact, during the Toa-Dark Hunter War, Drakaal personally targeted Jethryn among the ranks of the Toa, but failed to kill him. Most recently, Drakaal is known to have been hired by an unknown enemy to spirit away Turaga Dazix and his Matoran allies back to Slaxar Nui, where they were to be killed. However, the plan failed to the actions of another Dark Hunter involved in the plot, Kerath. Personality As a Toa of Fire, Eikaal was quick-tempered like most of his brethren, but obedient to his Toa leader. He also had the belief that, as the host of the Phoenix, he had a special destiny and that he had to live up to this destiny. Under normal circumstances, Drakaal is quite calm and obedient. However, in this state he is still rough, sarcastic, and rather disagreeable. However, he can become enraged quickly, most often when he is hurt, which reminds him of his years of pain as the Makuta's victim and his desire for vengeance against them. While enraged, he is near unstoppable, as further pain only makes him angrier, and often makes no distinction between friend and foe in his fury. Powers and Equipment As a Ta-Matoran, Eikaal had a natural resistance to heat, allowing him to work long hours in the forges of Ta-Metru. As a Toa of Fire, Eikaal could crate, control, and absorb fire. In addition, as the host of the Phoenix, he was able to manipulate fire in ways that other Toa of Fire were unable to. (See moveset below as an example.) He was also very physically strong, the traditional skill of Ta-Matoran. The fused being Drakaal lost his elemental control over fire, but was still incredibly strong, and did not feel pain when enraged. He was also equipped with a giant flamethrower and machine gun, each made from the body of a defeated Toa, and operating on their elemental power core (which meant they never had to be reloaded.) Toa Moveset *'Sudden Flame': Eikaal channels a blast of heat through the air, and when he senses that it is near to the desired target, controls it such that it bursts into flame. This attack can pass through solid objects, but easily flammable objects will be ignited even when the attack is only in the form of heat, ruining the surprised aspect. This was Eikaal's primary ranged attack, and used as a form of sniping. *'Ashmaker': A powerful attack in which Eikaal drops from up high, and uses his Phoenix powers to cover himself with fire. When he finally violently hits the floor, the flames will come off of his body and blast off into the area surrounding him, although it also weakens him. This attack is his primary area-effect attack, and is usually followed up by the use of the Phoenix Flight. *'Phoenix Rising': Eikaal uses the power of the Phoenix to restore his elemental power. When doing this, he will also ascend into the air, the Phoenix's abilities functioning as both wings and propulsion. Usually, once he reaches a desired height, Eikaal will loose the flight and drop back down to the ground, or convert his powers into an Ashmaker or Phoenix Blast. *'Phoenix Blast': Eikaal's most powerful attack. Eikaal channels his Phoenix powers, which will usually be already built up from the Phoenix Rising, into a single energy projectile which takes on the form of a flying Phoenix. Upon hitting the target, the projectile will burst into a mass of flame, usually covering a large area, and is capable of completely frying an enemy. The downside to this attack is that it severely weakens Eikaal and renders him unable to use his Phoenix-based powers for a couple of minutes, and he must be protected by his teammates until he is ready to fight again. Appearances *Orders Gallery Eikaal4.jpg Eikaal5.jpg Eikaal6.jpg Eikaal7.jpg Eikaal8.jpg Eikaal9.jpg Eikaal10.jpg Eikaal11.jpg Eikaal12.jpg Trivia *Drakaal is one of 's favorite characters. *Drakaal was once considered a selfMOC of sorts for Stormjay Rider, but was ultimately replaced by Jethryn. He then remained for a while as secondary selfMOC, until he was again replaced, by Kerath. At present Drakaal is considered an independent character with a small amount of Stormjay's own personality. *The Toa form, Eikaal, was originally intended to have a shield, but this was scrapped at the last minute. Category:Toa of Fire Category:Fire Category:Dark Hunters Category:Visorak